


fly on the wall

by ScreechTheMighty



Category: God of War (Video Games)
Genre: (or at the very least: shorter than my usual), Abuse, Attempted Murder, Drabble, Gen, Post-Game, domestic abuse, kratos POV, no beta reader we die like men, not mythologically accurate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29232069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScreechTheMighty/pseuds/ScreechTheMighty
Summary: Mimir recalls a moment from his time in Asgard. (A short fic cross-posted from tumblr.)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	fly on the wall

“I could have killed him, you know.”

“Hmm?” Kratos was only half-listening to the head; most of his focus was on watching Atreus. They had found the ruins of what had once been a giant settlement, one long abandoned. From the lightning-shaped scarring that marked some of the stone, it was not a decision they made of their own free will. Atreus was more reverent and somber than usual, sometimes stopping to rest his hand on a doorway or half-crumbled wall. “Killed who?”

“Odin.”

_That_ caught Kratos off-guard. " _You_?" he said skeptically. He had only seen Mimir intact once, but from what he remembered, he had been shorter than Kratos and hadn't seemed especially strong. Perhaps that was a side effect of his imprisonment, but even putting that aside, non-gods weren't typically in the business of killing gods. Unless there was something Mimir hadn't told them about his heritage…

"I know, I know, but these were unique circumstances. It was after that business with Thrym. Do you remember him?"

"The giant who wanted to marry Freya."

"Aye, that's the one. As I said, Odin was furious that she cast them out of Asgard rather than allow Thor to continue his carnage. I was in the room when they... _discussed_ what happened." He said the word with the forced, neutral tone of someone trying to be diplomatic. A natural impulse, Kratos assumed, for someone who worked as an ambassador. Not something Kratos would have the patience for.

Perhaps Mimir had lost his patience for it as well, because his next words were thick with open disgust. "He was irrational. Ranting, wouldn't let her get a word in. He'd been experimenting again, doing who knows what with seiðr magic. He was always at his worst on those days. I tried to say something, but it was like I wasn't even in the room. He either didn't notice me or didn't care that I saw…"

Another pause. This one longer.

"He had a knife. I thought he was going to kill her." Kratos could hear the fear in Mimir’s voice, even at the very memory of it. "Ridiculous thing to think. She still had her fighting spirit then, better magic...if he'd truly tried to raise hand against her, he wouldn't have gotten far."

Kratos thought back to the day Baldur died, to Freya's eyes tearing through him like daggers, and felt he understood what Mimir meant. "Still, there would be consequences," Kratos pointed out. "Killing him wouldn't have ended well for her, even if it were in self-defense."

"That it wouldn't have. Not for her, and not for the Vanir, either. That's what I was really worried about, I think. The consequences. That she wouldn't fight back to preserve the peace or that she would to save herself...neither outcome good. I tried to step in, and, ah…Odin didn't like that."

He didn't have to elaborate. The dread in his voice the one time he'd spoken of Odin's hospitality, and the contempt in his voice whenever he spoke of the god afterwards, said enough.

"...Let's just say it's only by Freya's generosity that I kept my good looks," Mimir said quickly. "Still had a hard time breathing through my nose most of the day, but I suppose that's a small price to pay for preventing another Aesir-Vanir war, right? At any rate, Odin left the knife behind. I took it so he wouldn’t do anything rash later, but that night I couldn’t sleep, and…well, I know where _he_ sleeps…”

The mental image of Mimir standing at Odin’s bedside, knife in hand, was ridiculous. Kratos might have laughed, had he not known the full context. “But you didn’t do anything?”

“Oh, I was close. I could’ve. He’s a deep sleeper. All I could think about was what he’d done to me, what he’d almost done to _her,_ how if he was comfortable pulling out a knife when people were watching, who knows what he might try in _private?_ But...the longer I thought, more I realized if they didn’t kill me, they’d blame Freya and kill _her_. And Thor would probably take over, and he’s not much better than his father, if I’m being honest…I actually started wondering if I could kill my way through Asgard before any of them woke up.” Mimir tried to laugh. It was a strained sound, lacking in humor, self-mocking and harsh. “And then he started waking up, so I ran. Put the knife back where I found it.” The conclusion of the story was as harsh and sarcastic as his laugh had been: “Freya ended up banished not long after, so clearly I made the right decision.”

Kratos grimaced. He could understand why Mimir felt that way, but… “It wouldn’t have been worth it,” Kratos said.

“I know.”

“You don’t.” No one really could, not unless they had lived through it. “Whatever you may have heard about Greece, I promise you it was far worse.”

That was all he had it in him to say.

Mimir, fortunately, didn’t ask. They simply watched Atreus as he continued searching the ruins of people he should have known. Of a place that reminded Kratos of other ruins, of another people long lost. The consequences of the gods and their meddling.

Himself included.

“Shame that power never seems to end up in the hands of those who use it well, isn’t it?” Mimir said finally.

“Hmm.”

It was too late for him, Kratos knew. He wanted to believe that it wasn’t too late for Atreus, despite his missteps. Maybe…

But that was if the corruption _truly_ came from the person, and not the power.

Only time would tell which was true.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr as screechthemighty for those who want to see short fics like this first! And also all my Star Wars and GoW blogging.


End file.
